


it started with a whisper

by GucciAspirin



Category: Love Live! School Idol Project, Love Live! Sunshine!!
Genre: F/F, Multi, Polyamory, Sexual Content, the usual, years post canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-14
Updated: 2016-10-14
Packaged: 2018-08-22 07:34:08
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,911
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8277868
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GucciAspirin/pseuds/GucciAspirin
Summary: “Date you?” Dia asks. Her eyes are wide. “Both of you? Like at the same time?” // Or the story of how Dia got two girlfriends.





	

 

**i.**

It’s subtle. The way Mari hints.

 

Wait. No. Actually, it isn’t subtle at all. It’s just that the ending conclusion is so abstract and non-conforming; it takes Dia a little longer to understand. Most people wouldn’t understand, at least that’s what Dia would like to believe.

**ii.**

 

Dia is stretching with Kanan, feet pressed together and backs arched forward. It’s hot outside, and they’re mainly just stretching to cool off from the run they went on. Dia’s limbs pull and hurt, but they also expand more than they did prior to the run. It’s the raised heat of her body. She feels like liquid, like if she concentrated enough she could just dissolve into the wood of the patio they’re stretching on.

Kanan looks up at Dia, smiles and reveals white teeth.  A bead of sweat trickles down her temple, and she exhales whilst wiping it away. In the sun, Kanan’s eyes are almost red, the violet in them lightens under the brightness. She’s mesmerizing, not that Dia didn’t know that. “You’re getting better,” Kanan says.

Dia breathes out slowly. “That’s dedication. Of course I’m faster. I’ve been following the Muse schedule for three years now.” She huffs out and lifts her chin. Even in their second year of university she’s stayed strict on herself about training; more so now that her plans divulge far beyond school idol competitions.

Kanan leans forward again so that she’s touching her toes. “Dork,” she teases. Her teeth catch her lip, and Dia finds herself specifically looking at the curve of her mouth, at how Kanan’s teeth sink into vibrant, pink skin. Then she looks lower, her eyes following the line of Kanan’s breast and how when she leans forward they nearly spill out of her tank top. It’s only a glance, but her face heats up and her pulse gets quicker and it’s _odd._

But it’s when she looks up at the glooming presence above Kanan that she panics. “Kanan look—”

_Splash._

Mari is laughing with a now presumably empty bucket of water in her hands. Dia is soaked, hair over her eyes and water making her shirt stick to her skin. When she can see again, Dia finds that Kanan is in a similar state. Dia clenches her fist and stands. “Mari,” she says through her teeth.

Mari continues to giggle. “It’s joke!” she says, both hands rising.

Kanan stands and wipes the hair from her eyes, Dia finds herself staring again. Mari is as well. Kanan looks at the two of them, her mouth opened wide enough so that Dia can see her tongue between teeth. “What was that about?” Her eyebrows crinkle as she looks at Mari, hands on hips.

Mari shrugs, idly coming closer to Dia. “Just thought the two of you needed to cool down. She winks at Dia. “Especially you.”

_“I-! I didn’t need to—to,”_ Dia stops to inhale some of the crisp, morning air in order to calm herself. “I didn’t need to cool down,” she murmurs. Dia looks away and huffs. She didn’t, right? Maybe her heart was a little fast and maybe she was staring at Kanan for a few seconds too long, but who wouldn’t? It’s Kanan after all. “Maybe _you_ needed to cool down,” Dia adds a second later, eloquent as always.

Another giggle. “Two wet girls in front of me, maybe I do.”

Kanan laughs but quickly covers her mouth, though Dia can still see the dimples in her cheeks.

Dia’s face feels hot despite the water just thrown on her. What does that even mean? Dia knows it’s one of Mari’s stupid jokes but still, she has to swallow in due to the sudden dryness in her mouth.

“Aw, don’t get mad,” Mari says while leaning in. She drapes an arm over Dia’s shoulder, and then pulls her to Kanan before placing her other arm over Kanan’s shoulder. The closeness does not help Dia with the heat on her face. “You two are probably hungry,” she says. “I made food!”

Kanan glances at Dia, cautious and slow, but ends up following Mari into the house when she walks away. Dia comes in tow.

**iii.**

Despite Mari’s antics, Kanan and Mari are both good roommates. They live together easily, and they have a nice place thanks to Mari. Spacious, wood floors, two bathrooms and three bedrooms; though the third bedroom is practically useless since Kanan sleeps with Mari. Which is fine, that’s how it’s been since the beginning. But recently Mari has started to ask Dia if she wants to sleep with them. In the same room, in the same bed, with the two of them – all three of them together. She asks every night, and obviously Dia finds it ridiculous.

Kanan and Mari are together, as in dating, and that doesn’t bother Dia. She’s happy for them if anything but sometimes her heart drums a little too fast when they kiss in front of her and sometimes her eyes linger and sometimes she’s just very confused.

Her friends are attractive; _“hot”_ is probably the best way of describing them, in all actuality. They look good together, so on occasion Dia finds herself yearning for a semblance of what they have, which is completely normal, right? Not that she’s actually interested in other people, namely it’s just them. So, even if the question Mari now asks on a nightly basis is ridiculous, sometimes Dia thinks about saying yes. Wonders what it would be like to…no _._ She won’t think about that.

It’s stupid.

Dia feels fingers thread through her hair and when she looks up she sees Kanan’s face hovering above her. “What are you thinking about?” Kanan asks, her smile both warm and welcoming – almost too welcoming because Dia finds herself tempted to say what’s on her mind. The thing is, she doesn’t actually know what’s on her mind because she can’t pinpoint the feeling.

Dia brings her pencil up to her mouth and bites the end with the eraser. “This,” she says while pulling away and looking at the table. “I’m trying to coordinate our schedule with the rest of the girls. It’s Ruby’s last year; and Hanamaru’s and Yoshiko’s,” she adds in only mild afterthought, “And I don’t want them falling behind while trying to adjust to everyone’s university schedules.”

Kanan walks around and sits next to her on the couch. Their thighs touch, and she looks at Dia. Dia is confused again. “You look cute when you’re thinking.” Her eyes close when she smiles. “But you’re right.” Kanan looks over the sheet, her eyes training in to Riko’s name circled in bright red. She’s the one who moved furthest away, so her schedule is the least flexible. “I’ll talk to Chika tomorrow and see her thoughts. Don’t stress yourself out too much in the meantime.” Kanan gives Dia a toothy grin, bringing her hand up to brush a stray strand of hair behind Dia’s ear.

And Dia feels hot, she almost leans into the hand, presses her cheek against it. It’s decidedly a bad idea, so Dia props herself up instead, but her eyes stay on Kanan.

She jolts at the sound of Mari sinking into the couch beside her. Mari leans against Dia, and Kanan’s body is still pressed into her other side. It feels right in a way that Dia can’t explain, which is frustrating because she is good at explaining. “Want to go out tonight?” Mari asks. “We could get dressed up and go somewhere fancy for dinner.” She props her head up into the nook of Dia’s shoulder.

Dia worries her lip. “I have an early class tomorrow,” she says.

“Okay. We’ll stay in.” Mari’s weight falls completely against her. “Pick a good movie. _Oh._ Something with cute animals. I think I saw a documentary on Netflix…”

Dia doesn’t bother telling them to go somewhere without her. She doubts they’d listen and lately it’s like they’ve been purposely sticking to her. It’s suffocating, but Dia can’t find it in herself to mind. She enjoys the adoration, but along with it comes a creeping sense of dread. Change. It feels like things are changing.

But now Kanan is lying across her lap, and Mari’s head is on her shoulder; so she doesn’t question it.

**iv.**

They’re all at a party. A college party that Dia and Mari had been invited to as members of the sophomore counsel, and Kanan had been invited to because she is, well, Kanan. Dia wanted to say no, after all nothing good can come out of a Friday night, off-campus party. But Mari said it would be fun over and over and over again, and Kanan – the now enemy – agreed.

But, the argument (if it can be called that) is now over, Dia’s at the party so she might as well _try_ to have a decent time.

Mari is wearing a strapless but casual black dress that holds tight against her bust. Kanan looks more laid back wearing shorts and a loose, grey tank top. Dia’s somewhere in the middle with a light blue romper. They look good, Dia supposes, though Dia tries to appear intimidating so frat boys won’t go up to them.

They’re dancing now, so she finds it’s hard to keep up the act, especially with the way her heart is racing. Which is strange because it isn’t like this is the first time she’s danced with them, obviously. They’ve done formation dancing; silly dancing before. This feels different. Mari is so close. Her eyes are open, lips up in a calm smile. Kanan is behind Dia, and she can feel warm breath in the crook of her neck. There are hands on Dia’s hips, she isn’t sure who's and she’s stuck in the middle of Kanan and Mari and confused again.

But it’s just a party and it’s just dancing.

She’s had two drinks but is – according to Kanan and Mari – a lightweight. So it may just be the surge of alcohol that causes her chest to swell between the two. Mari’s had three drinks; her breath smells like pineapples and cherries. Dia is tempted to lean closer, so naturally she does the opposite and leans backward. Kanan’s chest is pressed against her back. Suddenly she thinks that leaning back was a mistake.

Her bra is…thin.

Dia laughs. What else can she do? It’s forced and loud and her throat is dry. “Can this really be called dancing?” she asks. It’s so hot in between the two; she can’t even move her hand to wipe the sweat off of her lip, not without grazing Mari’s boob, which she will not do.

Mari chuckles and brings her face closer. Great, because that’s exactly what Dia needed. She makes her way towards Dia’s ear. “ _Why_?” she asks in bubbly English. “Are you not having fun?” She brings her hand down Dia’s neck then lower, her hand just barely grazes Dia’s chest. Dia jumps

She sucks in air from her nose and huffs out. “No! I mean, yes. I’m having fun. I can have fun, I’m very fun.” The alcohol is talking and Dia clamps her mouth shut once she realizes she’s rambling. “I’m the most fun,” she adds dumbly in afterthought.

Kanan comes in from behind her, places her lips near Dia’s ear. “Really, now?” she sounds amused, voice deep – Dia thinks she can feel the curve of Kanan’s smile against her earlobe. She shivers. “Prove it.”

Dia wets her lips and swallows. Fun; _ah_ , hmm… “Well, it’s an abstract concept, so obviously I couldn’t actually prove it, but—“

“You could do a dare,” Mari says. Her hand is on top of Kanan’s hand, and Kanan’s hand is on Dia’s hip and it feels nice. But Dia should also probably leave because it’s bad it’s bad it’s _bad; it’s not._

“Okay,” Dia says. No, no, no. “Name it.” She puffs out her chest, all too aware of how it’s pressed against Mari’s.

“Kiss someone,” Mari says. There is a hard glint in her eye, and her jaw is set tight.

Dia freezes, but Kanan continues to sway against her. She turns around to face Kanan, sees her eyes are slightly hooded and she has a similar smile to Mari’s, though not quite as mischievous. “If you want,” Kanan says. It’s meant to be reassuring.

It’s not.

She pulls away from the two, itches her neck and wipes her lip – _it’s so hot._ Dia tugs at the neckline of her romper, though it isn’t constricting. Mari and Kanan are still watching her, their eyes are dark, but it could just be the dimness of the room. Idly, Dia looks around to see other people dancing. She doesn’t want to kiss anyone here, except for maybe... Dia turns to look at Kanan and Mari again. _No._

“I need to breathe,” Dia says before walking away. There are dozens of bedrooms in this building; she just has to find one. Dia enters the first unlocked door she finds, only to be startled at the site of a boy with his head in between some blonde girls thighs. Dia hears her voice and thinks of Kanan and Mari before stumbling out with a mumbled, “S-sorry,” she doesn’t even think the couple heard.

The next room is empty. The bed is blue with crumpled sheets, and the room itself smells like corn chips but it will do, it’s not like it matters. Nothing really matters except them, and that’s muddled. Why does her heart beat so fast when she looks at them and why does she only crave intimacy with them and why are they such an ideal. It isn’t normal, and it’s unbecoming of her to be so confused with her own feelings.

The door creaks open; in comes Kanan and Mari. They aren’t smiling or teasing. Mari sits to Dia’s right, Kanan to the left. Kanan places her hand on Dia’s thigh. “What’s wrong?” And the heat that rolls through Dia’s stomach when Kanan slides her hand up and down her thigh is what’s wrong. “You’ve been acting off these last few weeks.”

Dia bites the inside of her lip. She thinks that maybe she started to become aware around the time that Mari started asking her to come to the room at night. Why did she have to start asking that stupid question in the first place?

Mari stares at Dia’s cheek since Dia refuses to look either of them full on. “You can tell us, you know? I thought we weren’t going to hide anything.” Mari pokes Dia’s cheek.

“I’m fine!” she says too loudly. “I just think that the prank was clearly beneath me and don’t understand what it has to do with being fun.” She turns to look at Mari, but still can’t quite meet her eyes. She pinches her lips together to look more scornful.

“You didn’t want to kiss anyone?” Mari asks. Dia can’t help but think that Mari looks almost disappointed. Her eyes go downcast to Dia’s hands. “Have you kissed anyone? You haven’t, right? You would have said something.”

And this is embarrassing! Awful! Terrible! Dia falls forward and places her face into her hands. “No,” she mutters. But in her defense she’s been busy and hasn’t had the luxury of having an in-group romance. “But by choice!” she says, popping her head up and looking at both of them in warning. Their eyes are soft, so are their hands. So…pretty.

Mari grabs her face, her thumb digging into the divot of Dia’s cheek. She brushes over her beauty mark, looks at it carefully. Slowly she edges in. Her eyes are hazy, and Dia isn’t sure whether she’s drunk or not. “Dia,” she says, “what do you think about me?”

The atmosphere is heavy, it feels like it’s physically weighing down on Dia’s body. Dia can still feel Kanan’s hand on her thigh; feel the heat coming off her body. This is off. The dynamic is all wrong. Dia takes Mari’s hand off her face. “I think this is asinine.” She begins to stand, but Kanan catches her hand.

“Dia, wait,” Kanan says. She pulls Dia down slowly so that she’s sitting again. “We love you,” she says. The word makes Dia’s heart speed up. Out of context it would sound like a declaration, and Dia’s tempted to say it back. Kanan puts her hand on Dia’s wrist, her thumb resting against the pulse.

“Sorry,” Mari says with her soft voice and soft smile and soft laugh, _ugh._ Dia looks at her, mouth ajar. “The dare was stupid. I just thought that if you had to kiss somebody you might…”she bites down on her lip and leans in. Over Dia’s shoulder she nods, presumably at Kanan, and then turns to Dia again. Her face and mouth are too close, but Dia would feel cowardly if she pulled away and that is one thing she most definitely is not. So, she lifts her chin and looks Mari head on. “Tell me to stop,” Mari says. _Wait what?_ Dia finds that now she actually can’t move. Not when Mari is leaning in and in and getting closer. Her mouth is on Dia’s.

It’s just a faint press. Dia’s eyes are opened, Mari’s are not. Dia, who can still feel Kanan’s hand on her wrist. “Stop,” she says, barely audible in way of warm lips on her own. Mari pulls away, but the sensation of _her_ is still there, like a bruise but not painful. It feels like summer, like light, like heat. Her palms are sweaty, and Dia wants to move her hands but Kanan still has a hold on her.

_Kanan._

“It’s okay,” Kanan says. Dia can’t see her face, isn’t really looking for it; but she can hear the smile in Kanan’s voice. It’s addling, whatever is going on. Dia can’t grasp onto it, yet her body is scorching. She feels – not for the first time – out of the loop. “We love you,” Kanan repeats. She brings her hand to Dia’s face and pulls on her so that Dia is forced to look into her eyes.

“Huh?” Dia sputters. She is trapped between the two of them in a situation she cannot control.  It feels like falling. Mari grabs onto her other hand, but Dia’s still toppling.

“Did you not want me to kiss you? Would you rather only Kanan or—“ she stops and looks at their joined hands hesitantly. As if she’s thinking of pulling away. Out of reflex Dia holds on tight, squeezes so that Mari won’t leave. “I was your first,” she says, gives this terrible self-indulgent smile that makes Dia’s stomach churn.

Kanan’s fingers are still pressed against Dia’s face, and she tugs so that Dia comes towards her. Again, close faces. And again: _just what the hell is happening?_ Dia doesn’t know if it’s the alcohol. Maybe she had a little bit too much and is now passed out having an extremely vivid and weird dream. That might make sense.

“Is this for real?” Dia asks, she sounds slow; her tongue is heavy.

Mari laughs and trails her fingers up Dia’s arm. “We love you.” Dia’s starting to become frustrated with those words. “Of course it’s real. We’ve wanted this for a long time, but,” she stops.

“You can’t just bring this stuff up, can you?” Kanan finishes a moment later. She is still close and her nose bumps against Dia’s.

“What stuff?” Dia asks, though she’s leaning in. When Kanan’s lips touch hers, she freezes. Kanan’s mouth is still curved, still smiling or mocking or – Dia isn’t sure. She wants to not care about this, to want to leave. But her stomach is coiled tight and she keeps her feet grounded.

Kanan kisses her, Dia lets her, Dia kisses back. It’s like taking first steps, clumsy and uncoordinated but liberating. In contrast to Mari, Kanan’s lips are dry. Her lipstick faded an hour ago on beer number two.

She moves slowly, her lips parting to take in Dia’s bottom lip. Dia finds herself following the movements. Mari’s hand travels up and down her arm still, and she feels weight against her back. “You’re doing good,” Dia hears in her ear, smells vodka and fruit. Dia _burns._ Something travels from stomach to groin at the sound of Mari’s voice, and her skin tingles. “Open your mouth.”

Dia does. She doesn’t even mean to follow the instruction, but she does. Kanan traces her tongue along Dia’s lower lip before sliding in to brush against Dia’s. Dia doesn’t know when she closed her eyes, but in the dark everything feels like more. She lets out a sound into Kanan’s mouth when she feels a warm pressure below her ear. Mari.

Dia pulls away, looking at Kanan. She leans into the hand holding her face before turning to Mari. Mari whose cheeks are faint red, who stares with glazed eyes and grins. Dia kisses her. It’s rough; Mari is more eager now – less fearful about what she does. Kanan grabs hold of Dia’s hands and moves them against Mari’s sides with her lips grazing Dia’s neck.

Mari bites on Dia’s lip, pulls. It hurts, and Dia finds herself addicted to the sensation of Mari’s teeth and Kanan’s hands.

**v.**

Polyamory is not a situation Dia Kurosawa ever thought she’d face. After a night of drunken kisses and light groping, she thought that _maybe it was just the alcohol._ But now they’re back at the apartment and Kanan and Mari are both so expectant.

“Date you?” Dia asks. Her eyes are wide. “Both of you? Like at the same time?”

“We already pretty much are,” Mari says, her tone is matter-of-fact, and Dia finds herself confused and annoyed all at once. “You just don’t do the fun parts.” Dia glares and Kanan follows suit. “It’s joke!” she raises her hand, head tilting to the side.

“But how does that even – I mean, theoretically – I mean,” Dia groans. What exactly does she mean? She looks over to Kanan, walks closer that she can see the details of her face. Inspects her. “You had a say in this?” she asks warily.

Kanan’s lips quirk up and she kisses the corner of Dia’s mouth. “ _Of course._ ”

Dia feels heat flush against her cheek and wonders how red the tips of her ears are. She really shouldn’t be so affected by a simple kiss, and yet. Dia turns to Mari. “But this was your doing,” she says with her finger pointed at Mari. She walks and walks until Mari is forced to step backwards. “If this is another one of your jokes…”

Mari sighs. “Jeez, you never heard of polyamory. I mean, take a look at how close your sister is with—” Mari stops and glances over Dia’s shoulder. Kanan is no doubt trying to get her to stop talking. Dia clenches her fist, breathes.

_How dare she bring up Ruby._

Ruby who is **pure**.

Dia pins her arm against Mari’s chest, and Mari doesn’t look nearly as scared as she should be. She’s grinning, ear-to-ear. Slowly Mari looks down at Dia’s arm, mouth opening and eyes getting dark. It’s distractingly attractive and Dia blinks slowly before remembering why she got Mari into this specific position. “My sister is innocent.”

“Of course she is,” Kanan says from behind. She places her hand on Dia’s shoulder. Dia turns. “But it’s not an unheard thing.” Kanan’s eyes shine, and Dia’s inclined to believe her for a moment. “Right?”

Dia wiggles her way away from the two. The closeness is getting to her head because she almost wants to say yes. Her hands are clammy and shaky, so she wipes them against her skirt before clasping them up together. “The two of you,” she starts, and then stops – she doesn’t actually know where she’s going with this. “The two of you – it would…imbalance everything. And there would be,” Dia pauses, and closes her eyes and opens then after a second. “Chaos.” There, that sounded calm, collected.

“ _Ah_ , what’s wrong with a little chaos?” Mari takes one step in, stopping only when Dia scowls. She tilts her lips down. “I love you,” she says, then, “Do you love me?”

Dia looks away sharply, crosses her arms. Stupid Question. “Yes,” she mutters. “But—”

“And I love you.” Dia looks at Kanan. Both of them seem hesitant, careful maybe even a little scared. Love – that’s not new. That isn’t something that’s just entered their dynamic. Of course Dia cares deeply about the both of them. But there are different ways to care. There are right and wrong ways _to care._

“That isn’t the problem,” Dia says. “There are three of us. And _we_ work with the two of you and the three of us…and me. I mean—“ Dia fumbles over her words. “Not in three. That’s not what I’m saying—”

“What are you saying then?” Mari asks, her eyebrows are raised, and Kanan looks just as confused.

“It wouldn’t work. Logistically, it would throw off the balance.” That sounds right. What would being in a relationship with them even entail? It isn’t like she’s experienced or anything, she’s been too busy for those kinds of _things._ And dating two people at once? It seems like a jump despite the appeal, the longing, that odd feeling in her gut that says: yes. Her entering the relationship – for lack of better words – could mess things up beyond repair. It wouldn’t be worth ruining what they have.

Mari grabs her arm lightly. She slides her hand down until fingers brush against Dia’s pulse point. Kanan is close too, not touching, but Dia can feel her breath drift across her left cheek if she focuses enough. “It doesn’t have to be a huge shift,” Mari says. “We don’t have to change anything. But…think about it.” She kisses Dia on the cheek.

Kanan nods and smiles before brushing a strand of hair behind Dia’s ear and going to sit down on the couch.

They don’t bring it up again that night; but Mari once again asks Dia if she wants to sleep with them.

Dia stalls before saying no.

 

Dia says yes.

It’s just, one morning she’s extremely aware of everything. She makes coffee for three, receives two kisses on the cheek, helps make breakfast with Kanan, helps Kanan bat Mari out of the kitchen because she likes to use ridiculous ingredients ( _who puts caviar in eggs?_ ). And Mari stops trying to “help” Kanan, but continues to watch. Occasionally she’ll play around and grab Dia or Kanan. They laugh.

It feels right, in the brisk of the morning when Dia can think clearly. And if she thinks it feels right, then it most likely is right – maybe. So, Dia says yes.

“Yes?” Mari asks, her eyes sparkling.

Dia’s cheeks heat up, but she nods. She’s in the living room now, standing in front of a white board and facing the two.

Kanan smiles a little before asking, “Are you…sure?”

“I’m sure that it’s something we could try,” Dia says, trying to make her voice sound hard. It wavers but just barely. She still doesn’t know how it will all work, though she did watch three episodes of Sister Wives to get an idea. It did not help. “But we need to have rules. At least for now.”

“Rules?” Mari echoes. Her lips tilt down, not into a frown but more in a show of feigned confusion.

“Rules.”

“Rules?” Kanan asks, similar to Mari.

Dia turns her back to them and pulls the wet erase marker from the shaft on the whiteboard. She writes: RULES. Underlined, big, all caps. “Rules,” she repeats, though it feels silly. Do normal relationships have rules? And does it work differently for relationships with more than two people? She second-guesses herself before turning around to see Kanan smiling with Mari’s head on her shoulder.

“Okay, tell us the rules,” Kanan says. Mari sets her jaw and gives a tight nod.

Dia grins, but only when she’s turned around again. She doesn’t want them to think she’s not serious about her rules. With the marker, she writes: NO SEX. She hears a sharp gasp come from Mari.

“No sex?” Mari asks. Kanan doesn’t say anything but her eyes are wider than normal. _Is it really that big of a deal?_

She clears her throat. “No.”

Mari sinks deeper into Kanan’s shoulder. “Like…ever?”

Her ears prick up, bright and red. Dia looks away, crossing her arms over her chest. She swallows. “I didn’t say that.” After taking in a small breath she looks at the two again. This is embarrassing. “That’s normal,” Dia states. “To wait, I mean.” After all it wasn’t that long ago that she had her first kiss, how can she just jump to _that_. She feels like she’s behind on everything, but at the same time, Dia refuses to doubt herself again. She’s made her decision, and she isn’t a fickle person.

“But we have been dating,” Mari says. Kanan elbows her. “ _Ow._ ”

“What’s the next rule?” Kanan asks. Mari is still sulking, but she bounces up and looks at the board with only mild disdain.

“Right. Of course, the next one.” Dia chews her lip once her back is facing them. What was the next rule? She read a clear set somewhere on pinterest. If only she had printed it out and brought it with her… Oh! “We should attend dates, I suppose.”

“What do you call the three of us going out every Wednesday and Friday?” Mari asks.

“That was different. In any case, we should take turns paying.” Dia looks directly at Mari. “I don’t want a sugar mommy.”

Kanan stifles a laugh as Mari pouts. “Sounds good,” she says.

Mari sighs. “Next one?”

Dia clucks her tongue. Something about honesty, she thinks. She writes honesty on the board. It seems obvious enough, especially after everything the three of them have been through; to the point of Dia now being invited into their relationship never mind the drama of their third year. Neither Kanan nor Mari say anything about the rule, so Dia moves on.

There is nothing to move on from. Really, the no sex rule was the biggest thing.

Dia puts down her marker and turns. “I have no more rules. Not now,” she says, fiddling with her hands.

Mari stands up and raises her hand. “I do!”

“What?” Dia asks.

She sees blonde hair whirl past her face as Mari rushes towards the white board. She uncaps the marker and writes: MUST SLEEP IN THE BED WITH US AT LEAST 3 TIMES A WEEK !!! <3

Dia looks over it a few times. “Got a problem with that?” Mari asks when Dia doesn’t respond.

Dia once again finds her body burning. Her mouth has gone dry. “No. I think that would be fine.”

“Good!” Mari leans in and presses her lips against the side of Dia’s face.

Kanan rises easily from the couch, rosy cheeks and shining teeth. And Dia’s suddenly aware that now she has two very attractive girlfriends. _Girlfriends?_ She thinks that’s what they are. It sounds right, strange, but what other word would work? She swallows in when Kanan gets closer. Kanan grabs her hand.

“Question?” Kanan asks.

“Eh?” Dia mutters, and then, “Yes?” because she can’t get flustered every time one of them gets close, now.

“Can I kiss you?”

Dia nods slowly. “That would be alright,” she says, “if you wanted.”

Kanan chuckles and presses their lips together, and from the side Dia can hear a chirped, “Oh, me next!”

**vii.**

  


They go to a carnival, though Dia didn’t want to. It’s just that they’d already been planning on this before the whole dating thing so now Dia really isn’t sure if it is a date - which _it is_ according to Mari and Kanan. Maybe Mari was right. Maybe Dia has already been dating the two. Still, it should feel different.

But it doesn’t. Except for the extra...skinship involving her mouth, everything is pretty much the same. That might be good, though. Or not.

“You’re overthinking things,” Kanan says. She wipes a piece of hair out of Dia’s eyes. Dia blinks a few times. “Mari will be here any minute.”

Oh yeah, and where the hell is Mari? Dia looks at her watch. Three minutes late. What if Mari is having mixed feelings, and that’s why she opted to not ride with them? Dia chews on her lip. “Where is she?”

Kanan takes both of her hands. “She’s waiting for a package, like she told you _three_ times.” Kanan laughs and leans in. “It’s gonna be fine, we’ll be fine.” Her mouth gets close, and Dia just stares for a moment. Then comes the press, then comes the closing of Dia’s eyes then comes the kiss.

Kanan’s lips always taste like salt, though that might just be a manufactured thought since Kanan reminds her of the sea. It isn’t bad. Natural, actually. Like being out in the sun, or sipping water - it’s calming. When Dia pulls away the taste lingers on her teeth.

The corner of her mouth twitches against her will, a hypnotic smile she supposes; force brings it up. But then she feels another pair of hands come from behind her groping up to her chest. “Hello!” she hears in vibrant English. Dia jumps and turns to find Mari, grinning ear to ear. Her eyes quickly travel down to the white shirt she’s wearing.

It’s like those tourist shirts you see with the _“I heart random city.”_ Except instead of a city it says: _My Two Daddies_ . Dia can feel the tips of her ears heat up. “What are you wearing?” she asks, her voice is nearing a shout but not quite there yet. After all, they’re in public. _Oh. Right..._ They’re in public. Dia runs up to Mari and covers her shirt.

“I told you I was waiting for a package!” She looks up at Dia, that stupid smile on her face still. “It took me a while to find it in an adult size,” she says.

Dia looks around frantically, then to Kanan who looks more like she’s going to laugh than anything else. “Kanan!” Dia says, frantically pointing to the shirt. “She can’t - aren’t you,” Kanan begins to giggle.

“It’s a little funny,” she says. Mari beams. _Traitor._

“No! It isn’t. You need to change,” Dia hisses. She’s wearing a cardigan and a tank top that pulls down when she leans, and pulls up when she stretches; but it’s better than having Mari wear that around all day. The implication alone…

Mari pouts, crossing her arms and turning to face Dia. “You said I couldn’t be your sugar mommy, nothing was said about sugar da—” Dia covers her mouth quickly as a family passes by. They get weird looks regardless, and Dia jumps when a warm tongue runs along her hand. Kanan begins to laugh, Mari is still smirking and Dia is trying to pull off her cardigan as fast as possible.

“Take this,” she says, running it around Mari’s shoulders.

The two of them look her up and down. “How romantic,” Mari says, the words are stretched out, ‘romantic’ said in slow English that falls lazily off her tongue.

“Was this the plan all along?” Kanan asks. She winks at Dia. “You look good.”

Mari kisses Dia, lingering at her lips. There is an infectious curve in all of her kisses that makes Dia feel warm all the way down to her toes. “Thank you,” she says, leaning up to Dia’s ear. Dia shivers and watches as Mari walks to Kanan and kisses her, quick and smiling. “And hello to you other Daddy,” Mari says to Kanan.

Dia and Kanan both roll their eyes, but Dia’s is stopped short when she feels Mari’s hand sling in hers. Not that they don’t typically hold hands because they do sometimes, but this is a date so Dia’s palm may be just a tad sweatier than normal. Mari gives it a quick squeeze. “Don’t be nervous,” she says, “we all want this, so why bother worrying about it?”

Dia hums, looking over at the two. They all want this, the three of them - individually, this is what everyone wants. “Okay,” she says, with a breath. “Then let’s go now because I carefully scheduled things to where we’d get to the best parts.” She reaches over to Mari and fishes out a piece of paper from her cardigan. It has a small reference of the carnival.

“How long have you had that?” Kanan asks.

Dia thinks about it for a second. “Two weeks.” She hears the other two snicker, typical response. “In any case, we need to be by the bumper car lot around 8 pm.”

“Why?” Kanan asks.

“Bumper car tournament,” Dia states. “The prize is 5000 raffle tickets.”

Kanan sighs. “And why do we need 5000 raffle tickets?”

Both Mari and Dia turn to face her. Mari more excitable now and pushing the forward. “ _Why not!_ ”

“Exactly, so we have to win.”

“We will win,” Mari says back, golden eyes going wide. She’s right. They have to win. They’re going to win.

“Yes. We’ll win, and then we’ll have 5000 raffle tickets, which will surely garner some large-scale prize. Now, with the two of you in the car and me directing Mari through text as Kanan drives--”

“Wait, I’m driving?”

“You’re the strongest and will have the greatest pull on the car in the case of sudden turns,” Dia says simply.

Kanan quirks one brow. “Mari is the only one of us who knows how to drive. Wouldn’t it be smarter for -- wait!” Kanan stops herself, “Who says I’m even participating in this?”

Dia and Mari both roll their eyes. “Anyways, that’s the plan I have lined up, so if we spend 15 minutes at each major destination area, we should get to the stop 20 minutes early.”

“Oh!” Mari rushes faster, tugging harsh against Dia and Kanan. “ _Let’s hurry._ ” They fast walk for about five minutes when Mari stops. She looks up. “ _Shiny.”_ Dia and Kanan follow her eyes until they both see a large, beeping strength test. Dia didn’t exactly have that on the schedule, but with the way Mari is looking at her she can’t just skip it.

“We’re going to have to skip remote water boats,” Dia says coolly.

Mari runs over and hands the man in front of the test money, then turns around and beckons Dia and Kanan over. “I’m going to get the pink penguin,” she says and it’s doubtful considering the size, but Dia smiles nonetheless.

She gets the dial on the strength test about halfway up.

“It isn’t about strength,” Dia says walking up. “You have to know how much to put your body forward. Like physics.” She raises the oversized hammer and swings down.

She gets about half way.

“Dia!” Mari says, “What about moving your body forward more? It’s just physics.”

Dia tries again... And gets the same result. She tries again, same thing. She’s about to go again when she feels a hand at her wrist. Kanan grins at her. “Let me try.”

Dia huffs but walks away towards Mari who is snickering. “It’s obviously rigged,” she murmurs.

They watch as Kanan lifts and slams down. _Ding ding ding._ It hits the top.

“Obviously,” Mari says before giggling.

“Can I try again?” Kanan asks the man up front.

He shrugs. “She paid for 10 rounds.”

Dia looks at Mari, her eyes narrowing. “Economy package,” is all Mari says, glancing at the price board. She didn’t save much but Dia’s used to this kind of spending anyways. Both turn when the bell goes off again.

“I’ll take the pink penguin and Eli,” Kanan says.

“Eli?” Dia asks. Her head snaps up and she watches as the man hands over a pink penguin and Eli plushy. Dia didn’t even see the lineup of Muse toys. She gasps.

Kanan hands both over, and Dia accidentally jumps and accidentally (or maybe not) kisses Kanan on the mouth. She laughs against Dia. “You’re welcome.”

Mari’s eyes go wide at the penguin. “ _Amazing.”_

“You guys got four more hits,” the man says up front. He looks bored. Rude.

Mari steps up. “I bet I can get higher than you.”

Dia’s ears prick.

They take turns but neither actually get past the halfway mark.

The rest of the night goes as planned in the schedule, all leading up to the bumper car tournament. Kanan surveys the area, then folds her arms together. “No. There are children…” she says. She glances around again. Dia sees them, but it doesn’t change anything. The only person Dia has ever allowed to beat her is Ruby, and she doesn’t see any adorable, widdle red-heads with a strong but reasonable fear of men around here.

Mari is already rushing to signups. “I’m driving!” she says.

Kanan stares down Dia. “I’m not getting in that car.”

Dia scowls. “But you have to. You’re going to have the most pull because of,” Dia gestures up and down.

“What does that even mean?” Kanan looks down and dusts off her shirt. “And in any case, if you want to win so bad, why don’t you get in the car?”

“I have to strategize from the outside. I’ll text you and give the positions so you can help Mari steer.”

“That’s cheating.”

“It’s strategizing,” Dia says the word again. She pounds her fist against her hand and looks up when Mari comes back. “I don’t like losing.”

Kanan sighs. “It’s mostly kids, I’m sure you don’t actually need to strategize.”

Mari holds a hand up. “But it would make the odds greater if we did.”

“Right!” Dia stands closer to Mari. “You in or out?”

Kanan walks away and sits on a bench. “I’ll watch.” Again; _traitor._ “But I do think the two of you will look cute in that tiny car together.” She nods forward to the lineup, and in following her gaze Dia nearly misses the words. A traitor, but a smooth one.

But, as it turns out, Kanan is right. Winning is fairly easy, especially with Dia’s eagle eyes and amazing perception. Five rounds and they win all within the first 15 minutes. Though, Mari was probably the only one that actually knew how to drive...In any case, Dia beams when she brings 5000 raffle tickets over to the booth, Kanan lagging behind with mild amusement, and then sitting on the bench near the prize booth.

“Orca,” Mari says slowly when looking at the prizes. Dia catches it seconds later.

“Orca,” she says to the man up front. He scans until he finds the large, stuffed animal. Easily it spans the length of Dia’s body. He huffs and gives it to Mari who stumbles just a little once it’s in her hands.

Kanan smirks and looks at them, Dia carrying the tail side, and Mari carrying the head. “What’s that?”

They both push it forward onto Kanan’s lap. “For you,” Mari says, panting.

The corner of Dia’s lips tilt up when Kanan examines it. “Was it worth it now?” Dia asks.

Kanan tries to not look happy, even forces her lips to form a small pout but eventually she gives in. Though lugging it back to the car takes a little strain, mainly because she can’t see and continuously bumps into people, always murmuring a muffled, “Sorry!” They get a lot of dirty looks, the three of them walking out of the carnival with several stuffed animals, not that Dia cares.

When they get home, all three are set on Mari (and Kanan’s) bed. Mari sighs and slumps down next to the penguin. “That was exhausting,” she says. Dia sits on the edge, watching as Mari and Kanan lay down. She starts to feel the deviation then, the change; she doesn’t know if she’s supposed to be comfortable now. It isn’t like she’s never laid down in Mari’s bed, or lay down with the two of them...but now it’s expected of her. Mari darts up and kisses her on the cheek. “Don’t worry. We had fun, right? It wasn’t even that different, see?”

Dia swallows in and itches the back of her neck. That’s part of what makes her worry. It should be different, shouldn’t it? Is this whole thing just a disguise to make her feel included? _Ah._ She’s not used to self-doubt, or dating.

Dia feels the tip of Kanan’s toe against her back; turns to see her watching. “I had fun,” Kanan says. “Even when you were yelling at those little kids in the bumper car tournament.” Dia narrows her eyes. She wasn’t even yelling. All she said was that they should prepare to meet failure sooner rather than later. Her voice was relatively calm.

Mari shrugs the cardigan off, revealing that God-awful shirt, though now it only makes Dia laugh. “So you do like it!” Mari says. “Too bad.” She takes it off revealing a peach bra that Dia has seen several times, but only now does it make her cheeks burn. “I’m gonna change, you should too, but come back, okay?”

“If you want,” Kanan adds.

Dia bites her lip and nods.

She walks to her room, breathes and gets dressed. Nothing flashy, not that she has any flashy sleepwear. Just pants and a loose button-up. It’ll be just like a slumber party, and they do that often enough. Dia looks in the mirror and straightens out her hair. “Good,” she huffs before turning.

She goes to the room, only to find a stuffed Eli being thrown in her face the moment she crosses the threshold of the door. When she can see again; Mari is hiding behind Kanan, her face muffled into her shoulder. Kanan tries to move, her eyes wide. Dia presses her lips together. _It’s on._ No one challenges Dia Kurosawa and wins. “Who is responsible?”

Mari and Kanan point at each other. And when Kanan notices Mari pointing at her she turns sharply and shoves a pillow in her face resulting in Mari letting out a muffled _mmph._ Dia hops on the bed and straddles Mari, hovering over her with a large penguin in her hand. “Fess up or prepare for death,” Dia says.

“Really! It wasn’t me!” Mari’s face is red and she’s in fits of giggles, but Dia knows when she’s lying - mostly because Mari isn’t that great of a liar, at least not to her. That’s when Dia feels a thwack to the side of her head. She falls down on top of Mari. The true culprit, revealed in the face of betrayal. She looks up and sees Kanan rolling laughing, then looks down to carefully gauge Mari’s face.

She blushes for a second, feeling the heat of Mari’s breath, but phases out of it when Mari quirks one brow and grins like she knows why Dia is blushing. Dia does a quick nod to Kanan while keeping eye contact with Mari. Mari nods back. Mentally she counts down: _1 2 3._

Both pounce on Kanan, shoveling the giant, stuffed whale against her body. She struggles with it, her cheeks puffing out. It’s cute, the childlikeness of it. When she gets a chance to take a breath, Kanan sits up. She blows a strand of hair out of her face and grins. “Gotcha,” she says and winks. It’s a fairly attractive gesture, and Dia can’t say that she hates it when Kanan moves forward and kisses her.

“I told you it wasn’t me,” Mari says before sitting up. Her shoulder bumps into Dia’s with the movement, and then she does it once more in teasing. “Though I can’t say I minded you on top.” Dia’s cheeks heat up and she swallows. She didn’t mind it either, but-- “Oh. You’re blushing. Maybe you like it the other way around?” She jumps without warning, and all Dia can see next is a flash of Kanan dropping down with her.

Kanan falls, Mari’s hand fisted against her shirt collar. Mari lands on top of Dia and kisses her. Her mouth is hot from laughter and movement, lips smooth. Dia’s eyes close after a second. It’s still weird, the kisses and setting and atmosphere, but her body feels charged. Her hands move from the bed up to Mari’s hips as if by instinct, grasping soft cotton. Mari chuckles into her mouth. “What?” Dia asks, jolting up. Her eyes open, and she sees Mari; eyes glazed. They stare at each other for a moment before Mari rolls off her, landing between Dia and Kanan.

“What was that about?” Mari asks. She turns to Kanan but keeps her hand on Dia’s wrist. Her fingers curl slightly and occasionally brush up and down, and it’s funny the way such light contact makes Dia’s skin prickle.

Kanan turns and kisses Mari, then looks over her. “You looked tense. Plus, it’s kinda hot when you get all competitive. Unless you’re screaming at children.”

“I wasn’t screaming,” Dia huffs. She tries not to smile, bites her cheek to tamper it down, but fails spectacularly when the others do. “And I wasn’t tense. Only...adjusting.”

“You made your tense face,” Kanan says, then furrows her brows and forms a tight line with her lips. “Like this.” She points to her face.

Mari laughs. “You look constipated.”

“Exactly.”

Dia turns and throws a pillow over at Kanan. “I don’t look constipated when I’m tense!” Dia touches her face. She doesn’t think she does...she scowls and feels her lips, but reaches no conclusion.

Mari nods and touches her nose quickly. “You do. Just a little bit, but that’s okay because Kanan looks like an old, grumpy man when she’s upset.”

“No I don’t,” Kanan mumbles.

“I think it’s cute,” Dia says without thought. The kind of thing she would have said before...everything, but now it comes off differently. Kanan’s cheeks tint. It has a new meaning now, or carries more weight. Dia thinks about taking it back or correcting herself or something, but she doesn’t. Only swallows instead.

“You’re both cute,” Mari says in her light way. It’s amazing how she doesn’t hold back with things like that, she doesn’t get nervous or feel silly (mostly because she is silly). “Now. _Lights out, or make out?_ ”

Dia rolls her eyes despite all three of them going with the latter.

**viii.**  

 

And that’s how it starts. Three nights of sleeping together, just sleeping and kissing that makes Dia’s head a little dizzy after long periods of times. Soon three nights becomes four, then five, six and finally, _finally -_ as Mari would put emphasis on - Dia starts sleeping in the room every day of the week.

It’s just that it’s nice. Dia finds that she likes the warmth, loves how Mari sometimes sleeps in between them to keep snug, always pressing her face against Kanan’s chest. She loves the way Kanan’s hand comes around to Dia’s back, to her hair, to touch her face. She loves waking up in random positions, but never alone. Morning kisses and warm bodies and smiles.

The two of them are addictive. They give Dia butterflies and make her smile; she supposes they’ve always done that. It’s almost sad when she thinks about how long she missed out on this, but at the same time, now is perfect. She’s secure, and for the most part has stopped worrying.

In fact the only thing that really gets her nervous now is Kanan, recently. She leaves during night and never says why. She always comes back - but Dia doesn’t know why she’s going off in the first place. Space, maybe? But to have it at that time seems so random.

Dia’s mouth is on Kanan’s neck when Kanan shifts and stands. “I’ll be right back,” she says. She smiles with her teeth and squirms. So strange.

“Where are you going?” Dia asks. Mari sits up next to her, moving her arms away from Dia’s sides. She sighs, and when Dia looks at her there is a calculated expression on her face. “What? Is there something I don’t know?” She swallows in. All at once insecurities come up again. They’re supposed to all be honest with each other.

Kanan itches the back of her neck and turns away, red-faced. She looks...embarrassed.

“Should I--?” Mari asks. Kanan bites her lip and nods. “Do you remember when you made the rules?” Mari says to Dia. Dia nods, so she continues, “Well, do you remember the no sex rule?” Another nod, this time more sheepish. She didn’t say ever, it’s just...it was the beginning, and Dia still isn’t exactly sure of what to do. She’s inexperienced compared to Mari and Kanan and also not used to being bad at things. “So, I’ve been taking longer showers at night, and Kanan has been leaving…” she leads off, and stares at the bed sheets.

Dia thinks for a moment. “I don’t understand.”

“When we’re kissing,” Kanan says, throaty. Dia feels warmth flow from her stomach. “Do you ever get too heated?”

Oh. Dia’s eyes widen. _That._ “Masturbating? Because of this?” It comes to Dia that this is one of the few things they don’t talk about.

“Don’t you?” Mari asks.

Dia blushes and shakes her head. It’s just that she doesn’t exactly know what to do. She’s touched herself, but felt nothing other than a few jolts. “I don’t really…” Dia knows now why they don’t talk about it. “Know how,” she says the last part under her breath, but the two still manage to catch it.

“You never watched porn?” Mari asks.

“No! The government sees what you look up through viral programming.”

Kanan snorts. “I thought that was just something you told Ruby to keep her off of dangerous websites.”

“Well I did, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t true,” Dia huffs while crossing her arms. “Anyways, why did neither of you say anything earlier?”

Mari touches her face with her hand. “We were keeping it at your pace. Besides, it’s nice taking things slow,” she giggles.

Dia feels the bed dip beside her and turns to see Kanan glancing at her with softened eyes. “Sorry I’ve just been leaving.”

“Anyways, that’s not our biggest problem,” Mari says. “You don’t know how to masturbate,” she stares and chews the inside of her lip. Dia doesn’t like that face, it’s the face she pulls when she’s thinking of something. Dia’s skin already feels hot with embarrassment and other things she can’t quite explain. “ _Oh._ We could teach you. Guide you through it.”

Dia’s head snaps up, as does Kanan’s. She doesn’t want to masturbate. Or maybe she does, but she doesn’t want it like _this._ She feels like a kid who doesn’t know how to tie their shoelaces. “That’s not needed!” Dia squirms away from her, moving closer to Kanan.

“Hey,” Mari says. She looks to Kanan as well. “Do you trust me?” she asks.

Dia swallows the lump building in her throat. “Of course.” Kanan nods but her mouth is still pinched together.

“Okay.” Mari shifts so that her back is against the headboard. She taps the spot in front of her and positions Dia to rest between her legs. Dia sits down, pressing her back against Mari’s front. “Kanan come here, in between Dia’s legs.” Dia glances at her, trying to keep a firm gaze but she’s nervous. Her hands are starting to sweat.

There is an edge in the atmosphere that is both exciting and scary. Tightness coils within her chest.

“If you feel uncomfortable,” Kanan warns, both Mari and Dia. Dia nods but doesn’t trust her voice enough to speak.

“Just relax,” Mari says. “Dia, can you close your eyes?” Dia hesitates, but does as she’s told. She isn’t use to the authority in Mari’s voice, at least not used to it being directed towards her. Her face gets even hotter. “Kanan, kiss Dia.” She can’t see, but Dia can feel Kanan pause, sense the hesitancy in her movements. “It’s gonna be okay,” Mari assures.

Kanan kisses her gently but there is an added amount of intimacy in the way they touch since she can’t actually see, or is not supposed to be able to see. Warm breath ghosts over the sensitive tip of her ear. “If I say something and you don’t want to do it, tell me,” Mari says.

“I will.”

“Hey,” Kanan says, low; Dia feels breath against her lips so she knows how close Kanan is without opening her eyes. She waits for Kanan to speak, but no voice comes out. She’s kissed again. The kiss is slow, tentative, and yet Dia finds herself more nervous than ever. Mari runs her hands along Dia’s shoulders, up to her neck and then to play in her hair. The sensation is nice, it sooths Dia momentarily, along with the tenderness of Kanan’s mouth.

“Focus on the way this feels,” Mari says into her ear. Dia almost jumps when the words vibrate against her ear. Mari’s voice is deeper than usual.

Dia nods and continues to kiss Kanan. Kanan’s tongue traces her lips, and Dia opens to take her in, shuddering when Kanan rolls her tongue against the base of her mouth. It doesn’t help that Mari’s rubbing up her sides again. She fabric of her shirt rustles sometimes, hitching up and showing small fragments of skin.

“Now,” Mari says, “Do you feel something tight in your lower stomach?”

Dia nods. It pulses and makes her want to reach out for Kanan and Mari. She wants to grab them both, but settles for bed sheets.

“What about your crotch?” Mari giggles when Dia visibly stills. Kanan’s mouth falls off of her own for just a second, their lips still close and touching when they breathe.

Dia shifts, not moving but squirming slightly. “Yes,” she says. Dia keeps her eyes closed but suddenly finds herself wanting to look at Kanan, turn, and look at Mari. What do their faces look like? Dark eyes, maybe? Lust? Dia wonders what she must look like and blushes.

“Okay,” Mari says, and then she falls into silence, idly running her hands over the exposed skin above the waistline of Dia’s pajama pants. Kanan kisses her again, letting her tongue swipe over Dia’s teeth and then sucking on her lip. She moves over to Dia’s neck, bites down on her pulse point but not too hard, just enough to make Dia’s mouth fall open as she lets out a soft whimper.

“Dia?”

“Hmm?”

“I want you to stick your hand down your pants, over your underwear,” Mari says. Dia’s eyes open, and Kanan stops to look up.

She turns around. “You want me to _what?_ ”

“I’m going to tell you how to do this,” she says. Her eyes are hazy, smile wide but occasionally it drops when she looks down at Dia’s mouth. She leans in and kisses Dia.

Kanan swallows in, and it’s then that Dia remembers what she was about to do before all of this. How does Kanan feel now? “Do you want to, Dia?” Kanan asks. Her lips are wet.

Dia feels the pulse again between her thighs, if Kanan weren't in between her legs she knows that she’d feel sticky. Dia bites her lip and looks at the two again before nodding and closing her eyes. She slinks her hand down to rest at the top of her underwear.

“Okay,” Mari says. “Press lightly. Feel yourself for me.”

Dia feels Kanan press their foreheads together before kissing her jaw.

She pushes down with her hand, the dampness coming against her fingers. Something guttural leaves her mouth, and Dia sinks deeper into Mari’s body. Again, it’s not like she’s never touched herself, but typically she’s alone and really has no clue what she’s doing. There will be things that feel nice, but nothing substantial. But now there is _promise_ and something strikes through her entire body. With Kanan’s mouth still on her, and Mari’s voice in her ear - she doesn’t know if she could even make an attempt to stop now.

“Are you wet?” Mari asks. Dia nods, though her cheeks flame once more. “Good. Now relax. Take in a deep breath.” Dia does as she’s told, though it’s hard to relax when Kanan’s sucking on her neck like that. “Dip your hand inside your underwear.”

Dia does it slowly, feeling the warm, slickness against her fingers. She blanches at the sound it makes, the squelch that she can only hear because the room is mostly quiet. Kanan sighs against her skin and moves up to find Dia’s mouth again.

“Move up, just below the skin.“ Dia does and hisses as she presses against something that makes her entire body shiver. _Oh._ “That’s your cl--”

“I know what it is!” Dia says suddenly, causing Kanan to jerk away. She isn’t a complete idiot when it comes to this...she’s had basic anatomy before.

Mari chuckles warmly against her ear. “Well, that’s good.” Her hands come up once again to rest over Dia’s chest. She squeezes, and Dia finds herself letting out a noise that’s cross between a yelp and a moan. “Press tight circles against it,” she says. She bites down on the lobe of Dia’s ear, pulling at it between her teeth and it’s _so much,_ especially when Kanan resumes their kiss.

She does as she’s told. Every time she whimpers, Kanan catches it; every time she bucks, Mari’s hands are there. She feels safe with the two of them, being cradled like this. Dia allows herself to roll her head back, baring her throat to Kanan.

“Move further down - with your hand I mean,” she says when Dia tries to shift. “Press one finger inside, and see how that feels, okay?” Dia does, feeling the heat encompass her finger. It slides in so easily. She moves back and forth, not quite feeling the same spark she felt earlier, but there is something soothing about it. “Try it with two. Feel everything.” Mari licks the shell of Dia’s ear. “I’d imagine you’re tight. Even when soaked,” she laughs at that.

Dia groans into Kanan’s mouth, between her teeth and against her tongue . She touches herself. Enters with two fingers and pushes in slowly before pressing into the area above her entrance. She circles back to her clit, begins to moan. The feeling from earlier, that deep tightness in her stomach, it gets worse. Like she needs to do _something_ to make it go away.

“Think about what Kanan was going to do earlier. What I do. How we do it. Deep, fast, maybe even slow,” Mari says. Kanan moans into Dia’s mouth. “We’re thinking about you, what you’d feel like. And each other.” She kisses the tip of Dia’s ear. “And Love.”

“ _Ah…”_ Dia breathes out slowly. She starts to thrust her hips more, and her heart feels like it’s going to explode. Everything is still, and hot – Dia can feel her chest rise up and down and an energy passes through her body that makes her utterly restless.

“Let go,” Mari says and Dia does. Long whimpers leave her mouth and at some point she buries her free hand into Kanan’s hair, pulling her in. She feels Kanan’s tongue and teeth and lips; but also Mari’s hands on her chest, Mari’s voice in her ear encouraging her. _That’s it, good. You’re so so good._

When she begins to wind down, Dia sighs into Kanan’s mouth.

_“Fuck,”_ Kanan murmurs. It catches Dia off guard and she starts to open her eyes. Everything is foggy. Kanan with flushed cheeks, staring at her with sparkling eyes. Mari, she sees when she turns, looks very much the same.

“You did great,” Mari says.

Dia is aware of the naivety of it, the encouragement. She feels silly, like she’s too young. Her hand is still in her pants and she can’t quite bear to take it out. It’s all wet. Kanan comes to her wrist, and nudges at her, eyes squinting as she smiles wider now. “It’s okay.” She pecks Dia on the lips before pulling the hand away.

Dia doesn’t look at it.

“You’re so cute when you’re embarrassed,” Mari says. Dia turns and glares, letting her wet hand rest against her clothed thigh. “But I need to get up and shower.”

Kanan nods. “Yes, and I--” her cheeks burn. Dia remembers again, and shifts away so that the two can stand.

“Right. Okay, I’m going to shower in the guest bathroom, then.”

Mari smirks, but says nothing.

**ix.**

Dia stares at her juice, only looking up when Kanan and Mari exit the kitchen, both laughing. Mari tugs Kanan close; kisses her, and Dia finds herself transfixed by the way their mouths move together. How Mari’s tongue swipes against Kanan’s lips as she smiles. She’s been thinking about that a lot lately, all three of them in general.

Ever since that night things have gotten more physical. It feels like moments leading up to _that_ , but it never gets there. If Dia’s getting frustrated, they _have_ to be getting frustrated. She startles when Kanan comes behind her chair, resting her chin on Dia’s shoulder. “Whatcha thinkin’ about?”

Mari comes over and kisses the corner of Dia’s mouth before sitting up on the table in front of her. Dia glares, but lets it go quickly enough when her eyes catch the skin of Mari’s thighs, how smooth it is under her skirt. Mari kicks forward, brushing their feet.

Dia turns, guiding her hand up to Kanan’s face. She kisses her, deep and almost lazily. Her mouth is relaxed despite the tenseness in her back and shivers rolling down her spine. “I want to...try,” she pauses against Kanan’s mouth, breathes in and kisses again.

“Dia?” Mari asks. Her eyes are shimmering, darker than before. Dia looks at Mari’s hands now wrapped around the edges of the table, tight.

 

“Sex,” Dia blurts out. Her face goes red and she brings her legs together.

Kanan still has her chin on Dia’s shoulder. “Yeah?” she asks, then after clearing her throat. “Are you sure?”

Dia nods, placing her other hand on Mari’s and pulling her near. She kisses Mari the same way she kisses Kanan. “I want this and the two of you. I love you.” It isn’t something that she just decided, rather an idea that’s been rolling around for weeks. The intimacy and closeness of it. She isn’t exactly sure how it all works, but she knows that she craves it.

Mari gets off of the table and onto Dia’s lap. She grins, her golden eyes twinkling. “Good.”

She kisses Dia again, hungry and Kanan’s breath is still on her ear, on her neck. Warm. Dia breaks away and looks up at Kanan and then Mari. “Wait. We’re going to do it,” she stutters _,_ “N-now?”

“Did you wanna wait?” Kanan croaks, the words getting caught in her throat.

“No, I just thought maybe tonight...or,” she stops and sighs. There is something about the way Mari is looking at her. Kanan’s presence, her breath hovering over Dia’s ear. “No.” She kisses Mari again and rests her hands on hips. The pressure heats up her body, contact from all sides.

 

Kanan’s teeth graze her neck, all the way up to her ear. Mari’s hands slide up. And Dia isn’t sure what to focus on so she just moves her body in tandem, rolls her neck to the side, traces the curve of Mari’s mouth, grasps onto whatever she can.

And then Mari is stopping. She holds Dia’s face in her hands. Her hands that are very, very warm – not that Dia’s face is cold, but each finger feels like sun soaking into the skin of her cheek. She trails her right hand down the line of Dia’s jaw, down her neck, then over the neckline of Dia’s dress. Dia breathes and when she looks down to Mari’s finger she can see the rampant rise of her chest, how it comes up and sinks.

There is a tug all the way up from her navel, a pull and she leans forward to kiss Mari only to catch Mari ducking to the side. Her sparkling eyes, her hand that digs into her chest, her devilish grin. Dia’s been set on fire, and Kanan’s tongue on her neck does nothing to damper it.

“I want to try something,” Mari says, and she pulls that hand lower, she touches Dia’s knee. When her hand starts to slide up Dia’s thigh, Dia doesn’t know if she’s ever wanted anything more. She squirms, nearly jumps when Mari reaches her inner thigh.

Kanan’s lips graze her ear before she kisses Dia’s temple. And then Mari presses. It isn’t even substantial, just the soft contact of her fingers against the front of Dia’s underwear, but _Holy God._ Dia grunts, her entire body pushing forward. She nearly dies when Mari gets off of her lap completely, again with that smile that might be attractive on other occasions but now is just irritating. Every thing is irritating _._ At this point Dia just wants to be touched, really touched…touched everywhere.

With Kanan’s laugh in her ear, and  Mari’s smile; she could kill them both for the position she’s in now. Mari, her eyes gleaming, she sinks down in front of Dia on her knees. Oh. Dia swallows. She didn’t prepare fully for this.

“What—what are you—“ Dia already knows what Mari’s doing, but there is the initial shock of it all. Kanan’s hand comes up to her cheek; she forces Dia to turn and then kisses her.

With that reassuring voice that could calm down an entire population Kanan says, “It’s going to be okay.” She kisses Dia again, her lips soft but the contact rough.

“Okay,” Dia says. “Alright.”

Mari is lifting her dress up, Kanan is kissing her with opened eyes, and Dia is, well – she’s adjusting.

“I’ve wanted this for a long time, you know?” Kanan says. It’s hard to hear the words when Mari’s mouth is pressed against the side of her knee. It’s hard to process any of it, not that it’s bad; not that _that’s_ ever been the issue.

“You have?” Dia manages to get out, then whimpers into Kanan’s mouth when Mari kisses her way up.

“Mmhmm,” her tongue brushes against Dia’s lip. “I didn’t know how to bring that up, though. I thought it was bad to want the both of you so much.” She takes Dia’s lip between her teeth, just grazing it. Dia feels her underwear being tugged down; feels Mari’s hands jerk her hips forward. “But it isn’t bad.” Kanan smiles against her mouth. “It’s good, right?”

Good isn’t the word Dia would use, but she nods against Kanan, opens her mouth just as a finger is sliding through her. She clenches her stomach and hisses into Kanan. She turns away from Kanan to look down at Mari. It’s almost embarrassing; the way Mari is studying her. But Mari looks up and she’s not smiling and her eyes are dark, she looks primal almost. Mari takes Dia’s leg and props it over her shoulder. She dips her tongue against Dia, she circles and swirls and – Dia lets out a string of noises she didn’t even know she could produce.

Kanan laughs against her neck before moving her hands up and around Dia. Her torso is still clothed, the dress only hiked up; but there is still heat when Kanan’s hands travel up her body.

It doesn’t take long.

Dia tries to make everything last, but Mari is good with her mouth – _not that she’d ever ever ever admit that_ – and the contact and overstimulation is so much. At some point her hand winds up in blonde hair, fingers gripping as if Mari is railing on steep stairs. Kanan whispers something into Dia’s ear; she doesn’t catch anything but the breath puffed against her, the heat striking and building.

No, good is definitely not the word Dia was looking for earlier. Try phenomenal, or great or some other synonym that means amazing. She looks down and sees that Mari’s other hand is in her skirt. Is she…? Dia bites down hard on the inside of her lip.

When the orgasm passes, Dia finds herself slumping. Mari breaths, her face resting on the inside of Dia’s thigh, cheek and lips wet. She comes up a few minutes later, kisses Dia lightly and then kisses Kanan. Dia watches them, Kanan with her hands coming up to grab Mari’s face, the way her tongue moves with purpose.  

 

Mari moves down again, kisses her, says, “bedroom,” then kisses her again this time pulling Dia up. When she’s standing and her legs are pressed together she can feel the wetness on her thighs. Before she has time to be properly embarrassed, though, Kanan is pulling her along. Mari is behind her. She has no idea how she got in the middle of them, but can’t really complain with Kanan’s tongue in her mouth.

It’s dizzying, the movements and flurry of bodies. Dia’s trapped, willingly and happily, but still – she has a hard time figuring out what’s going on at times. Kanan’s hands go to her lower back and grab her ass and she squeaks a little into Kanan’s mouth, only to hear Mari giggle in her left ear. Dia can’t say that dislikes it, how her body presses even further into Kanan’s. She thinks Mari is pushing her as well. Who knows.

In any case, Dia finds herself on the bed. Someone – oh, Kanan is dragging the dress over her head. She’s naked except for her bra, and even that has been shifted around due to the clumsiness of some of their movements. She’s naked and they’re not. Mari seems to follow her train of thought, coming up to Kanan and kissing her and taking off her shirt and bra, Dia watches amazed. Seeing them like that, in their element, the way Mari teases with her lips on Kanan’s, Kanan’s brashness and how she grabs Mari with no hesitation. She finds that pull coming back, that stirring, that twitch that makes her close her legs tight together.

Mari pulls away from Kanan’s mouth, but not before tugging down on her lip. It’s bright red now, swollen – almost like she’s wearing lipstick.

“Dia,” Mari says, voice sugar-sweet; Dia finds herself looking at Mari’s chest, at the deep red bra she’s wearing and the pale skin beneath it. “Dia,” she says again, this time with a laugh. “ _Come here.”_

Dia swallows in, breathes. She tries to remain her calm composure, but it’s hard when she’s on a bed, mostly naked and walking on her knees. Kanan looks at her with that sunrise smile. Her body is hard, but curvy. Still, Dia has the feeling that if she hit Kanan’s abs her hand would hurt. The lines of her stomach lead to round breast - idly, Dia thinks and not for the first time, how she’s perfect.

Dia is in front of Kanan now, Mari edged behind. She feels Mari’s chin rest on the crook of her neck, Mari’s hand comes to hers, and she brings it to touch Kanan’s breast…typical, Dia would roll her eyes if she wasn’t so distracted by Kanan’s face. It’s a good face. Dia leans in and kisses her, jumping only when she feels Mari’s hand come down to touch her.

“Do to her, what I do to you, okay?” Mari says slowly, her fingers roll through Dia at the same pace as her words. Dia opens her mouth, moans into Kanan.

“… _Mari,”_ Dia murmurs, Kanan swallows her words, and Kanan grabs her hand and Kanan trails it over her stomach down to where she is slick. “ _Kanan…”_

Kanan’s forehead is resting against Dia’s, she’s panting now heavy and fast – her hips are rocking against air. Mari’s fingers are slowly circling Dia’s entrance, but occasionally she goes _higher_. “Touch me,” Kanan says, so desperate that Dia doesn’t even care if her hands fumble. She moves her hand into Kanan’s underwear.

“You’re so,” wet dies down on her tongue and turns into a sharp gasp when Mari’s finger comes up to run lightly against her clit. It’s fine. Dia has always been fully capable of multitasking. So she sucks in air and follows suit with Kanan.

One thing she learns is that Kanan is responsive. Of course, they’ve kissed – things have gotten heated, but this is something different all together. The way Kanan holds on, how she takes and shudders at every tiny touch. Dia thinks about how she’ll get to learn more about this with the both of them. But the thoughts quickly leave because she can’t stop rocking against Mari’s hand, can’t stop thrusting her own. She sinks two fingers inside easily, moves fast and hard as Mari goes fast and hard.

And Kanan starts to say her name. Reverent and desperate and needy, Dia begins to spiral again but keeps moving her hand in and out. She’s probably frantic, her thrust are getting shallow because it’s hard to keep up with what Mari is doing. Mari’s lips are in her ear, she’s whispering something but all Dia can focus on is how the heat hits her skin.

Kanan, wet and curled around her fingers, sweltering. Kanan, reaching over and grabbing at Dia’s shoulder. She gets tighter around Dia’s fingers, she screams, she responds at the same time Dia responds. Pressure, the tensing of her body, the high like she’s up in the air. Everything is _yes yes yes._ Dia can’t say anything that’s coherent.

 

They come together.

 

Somehow by the end of it, Dia ends up on her back with Kanan on top, head on Dia’s stomach. Mari is…where is Mari?

“I think you blacked out for a second,” Dia hears. She looks up and to her side to see Mari. She brushes the hair out of Dia’s face, leans down and kisses her on the cheek. She’s sitting with her legs folded under, knee near Dia’s face. Out of impulse, Dia kisses her knee. Mari’s rosy cheeks get even redder. She leans down and kisses Dia again, this time lingering.

On her stomach she feels Kanan move. When she looks down Kanan is grinning, mouth slightly opened and pink tongue showing from between white teeth. She begins to laugh, the sound vibrating against Dia’s stomach.

“What?” Dia asks, it comes out sharper than she intended.

“I love you,” Kanan says, which isn’t an answer, but Dia maybe melts a little inside. Kanan kisses her navel. Familiar stirring comes back – but three times is a little excessive. Then again, Mari is right next to her in nothing but pink underwear and a red bra and Dia finds herself uncomfortable with the fact that Mari has the most clothes on.

She brings her hand up to Mari’s knee, almost proud in the gasp it elicits. Sluggishly, Dia moves her hand up until she’s at the hem of Mari’s underwear. She isn’t quite sure what she means to do by this, but when she looks up there is nothing but fire in Mari’s eyes. The yellow turning to to orange.

“What do you want?” she asks.

“What do you want?” Dia asks back, from below she hears Kanan laugh into her skin. Mari’s lips tilt up and she begins to strip. Dia follows the movements, sees when she drags her bra over her head, the gentle bounce of her breast, the way her underwear are drenched and leave a trail down her legs. Dia wets her lips, watches transfixed. Mari kisses her, with intent, her tongue coming in strong, lips hard. She moves until her knees are on both sides of Dia’s head, straddling her; Dia can see everything.

Mari, who is naked and in her face and hovering above her all at once; she dips a finger into herself and brings it up to Dia’s mouth. Looking down at her, Mari says, “Taste.” Her fingers are slick, and Dia swallows in, takes in a breath. _Fuck._ Dia thinks that this all might just kill her.

Dia pulls the fingers into her mouth, watches the way Mari’s eyes close at the contact. At the same time she feels Kanan press a kiss against her navel. She can’t see, not with Mari there; but she knows Kanan is moving down. Dia puts her hands on Mari’s hips, pulls her forward, and lightly _lightly_ presses her tongue against Mari’s clit. Mari bucks against her, and Kanan is already running her fingers down the length of Dia.

She’s amazed her body is still so responsive.

Kanan’s fingers thrust deep inside her, her cheek is resting on Dia’s thigh, and Dia tries to focus on Mari, tries to be precise with her mouth. She moves her tongue inside, then around, dips it and lingers on the places that make Mari grind down harder. Kanan’s thrust for the most part are slow, lazy – like she’s trying to garner reaction or draw Dia out. It works.

“You’re doing good,” Mari says, gasps, chokes out. Dia knows she’s doing good – she can tell by the way Mari’s reaction, but the reassurances are nice. “So good.” Her fingers come to Dia’s hair, she’s drenched against Dia’s mouth. Dia finds that she’s intoxicated by the want, them wanting her and her wanting them – this cycle. Mari is growing frantic, and Kanan is getting faster.

Kanan bites and thrust and licks, and Dia can’t help the way her hips move. She supposes Mari can’t either – not that she minds. She remembers months ago, Mari asking _what’s wrong with a little chaos_. Dia understands what she meant now. The ability to let go and take what she wants and not feel guilt. She comes, and Mari comes – Kanan’s mouth is on her, her breath puffing warm against the skin of Dia’s inner thigh. When Mari rolls off of Dia, she’s vaguely aware that her face is sticky, messy. They’re all lying together in a sweaty heap of post sex glory, and it’s comforting.

Mari’s head is on her shoulder, Kanan’s resting against her stomach; the only sounds in the room are labored breathing.

“Thank you,” Dia says after a moment. She smiles, looking up at the ceiling. The fan is on, and she wonders when Mari managed to do that.

“ _For what?”_ Mari asks.

Kanan kisses her stomach. “Mari was the one who brought it up. Over a year ago,” Kanan notes. Dia glances down to see Kanan is smiling, though her eyes are distant – forming a memory. Dia wishes she had been there to see it. “I was relieved.”

“I was relieved!” Mari says. She puffs out her chest before sinking back down into the mattress and laughing. “But I couldn’t not say anything and keep it a secret and let it fester for two years and—”

“ _Okay_ ,” Kanan and Dia say at the same time.

Dia sighs, but her mouth is curved up and she thinks that being anything but idiotically happy right now would be impossible. “Hey,” she says, “Kanan…Mari?”

“Hmm?” Kanan hums, Dia can see her breathing getting heavier.

Mari yawns, “Yeah?”

“I love you.”

**Author's Note:**

> alternative titles included the sexual misadventures of dia kurosawa but that felt too on the nose


End file.
